spikey_jap Reviews

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Another great Wes Anderson film

[9/10 · 6 June 2014]

Wes Anderson is, in my opinion, a film director that can present an original story and can actually deliver a fun ride, along with great cinematography and nice humor. I did enjoy his previous film, "Moonrise Kingdom," but couldn't join on the bandwagon to say it was a great film and it didn't land on my best of that year. With that being said, I did really enjoy this movie and can say that I did enjoy this more than I did than his previous film.

I really enjoyed the storytelling and the style of a Wes Anderson film. It has this very quirky, weird vibe to it that really grabs my attentions. As fans would expect from him, there are many great shots, great, fleshed out characters, contains a nice humorous tone throughout the movie and has some amazing cinematography. All of the things that I have mentioned above are present in this movie and I really enjoyed every one of these elements. I really cared for the characters, enjoyed the ride, along with how the story played out and did have some nice laughs throughout the movie.

There were, however, some surprising things that I did not expect from the movie, such as that the movie really had this suspense behind it and had me wondering throughout the movie of how all of this will play out. This movie sets itself very well and delivered very well on its suspense. Also, coming from my perspective, compared to the other movies that I have watched from him, this movie had some surprisingly violent moments. This is definitely not a bad thing and actually blended well with the story and actually worked. It presented a nice dark humor that did have me chuckling when it occurs.

There are many recognizable casts that appear in the film; however, most of them only have very small roles. With that being said, everyone did an amazing job with their roles. The main focus is on Ralph Fiennes and Tony Revolori. Ralph Fiennes is a refined actor and does have some nice comedy timing, as I saw in "In Bruges." He really gives a great performance and does deliver some nice humorous moments that did have me laughing. The new comer, Tony Revolori, I have to say was great! He worked well together with Fiennes and really made the character come to life.

Overall, the story was very original and great, fantastic moments and a very enjoyable ride. From start to finish, this movie flew by and I enjoyed every single moment. With the nice humorous moments, well-developed characters and a nice storytelling, I really recommend this to any movie lover and to fans of Wes Anderson films.

Captain Phillips (2013)

Tom Hanks... you did it once again!

[8/10 · 4 December 2013]

I will admit that I haven't heard anything about this real story until I heard about the movie. But, with me saying that, I'm really happy I was able to watch this film because emotionally I was fully into this movie and really liked this film.

If you have previously watched Paul Greengrass's previous films, he shoots his films in a shaky cam style that for me, at least, delivers on the realism of the situation. This is the case with this film because there was never a moment where I was taken out of the film as every single moment in the film felt real. The interactions between the characters, the hostage situation and the raw performances given by the entire cast really worked and were well delivered. Once things start to kick off, the film never stops on delivering the intensity and I found myself really invested with the film. There was never a moment where my eyes were taken off the screen.

I really can't say anything much about the performance except that everyone does a great job. Tom Hanks really gives a good performance and does deserve an Oscar nod for his role. He was able to give a raw performance to where I totally forgot that I was watching Tom Hanks acting, as he became the character. Also, there is a moment in the climax where I was completely shedding tears nonstop based on his performance alone. This man has a resume of great performances and for me; this is in the list of good performances delivered by this great actor. Now, this movie wouldn't have worked if the actors portraying, as the pirates weren't intimidating and they were able to give performances better than my expectations. These actors were able to appear frightening, very demanding and you will find yourself being scared of these guys. These characters aren't your typical villain and actually do have characteristics to them that you can see as they kidnap Hanks's character in the lifeboat. Throughout this lifeboat scene, the 4 actors and Hanks were able to deliver on the tension and will have you wondering what will happen to the captain; even wondering if he will survive.

This film was extremely well made to where I have little to nothing negative to say about the film. The only negative that I might have to bring up is that there is a moment where it did slow down, just for a little while, when the characters are on the lifeboat. The movie is a little over 2hrs. long and was well told. However, if they cut out only a gist of the scenes on the lifeboat, then it would have added more positive reaction to people who thought it was a little long.

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie and this is definitely one of the best films of 2013 for me.

Blood: The Last Vampire (2009)

Once again, another failed attempt of making a film adaptation of an anime.

[2/10 · 20 October 2013]

I will admit that there are some mindless action movies that I simply enjoyed watching and not care of the flaws that it carries. However, with movies like this, the negative really stands out and it really caused me to dislike this film more and more as the story progresses. I will admit that I haven't seen any of the original movie and the anime that this was based off of, but judging the movie as a whole, this movie simply sucked!

One of the main problems I had with the film was the story itself. Not only was in convoluted, but it felt extremely rushed to where I couldn't follow what was going on. The film took no sign of time and dedication to make any sort of sense toward what was going on, explaining character motives and having a sense of story that the audience can somehow enjoy. An example is when Saya is talking about her past and explaining what happened to her. During that scene, she introduces a person she loved, but was simply written out of that flashback without explaining why. Nothing is ever explained in this movie and I was left with only questions as the movie ended way too abruptly.

This leads to my other concern: characters. All of the characters were just flat and the film didn't do anything to add any sort of depth, characteristics or information about them. Many characters are introduced and they come and go like candy. There is a secret organization that Saya works for that was not explained. A character dies in a movie that Saya had a strong relationship with and yet you didn't know anything about him or why Saya was enraged with his death. There are hints of many of these throughout the film to where I didn't even care for any of the characters.

The acting is as expected bad and filled with actors overacting. The main actress was okay in the film and was the only one who didn't suck. Everyone else was bad and at times looked like they didn't even want to be on the set. One thing that did bother me was Koyuki, the actress who portrayed as Kogen. I can say in confidence that her voice was absolutely dubbed since there is no way in high heaven that she was able to speak perfect English like that! I maybe wrong, but after watching some of her performance on Japanese TV and movies, her voice didn't sound anywhere near to her voice in this movie.

The action itself was simply unentertaining to watch. All of the scenes were choppy to the point where I couldn't tell who was cutting whom. The CG effects on the blood were extremely cheap, making the blood splatter on "The Expendables" series to be more realistic. There is a huge fighting sequence with Saya and a horde of monsters that was unentertaining to watch and failed to bring any sort of thrill/excitement. These scenes mainly lacked any sort of excitement to the point where I unintentionally laughed. The only positive thing I can say about the action and with the film itself was that the main actress did her own stunts and have to give her credit for that.

One last thing I have to bring up that the CGI on these creatures were definite discounts of the vampires from "From Dusk Till Dawn." The make up on these creatures was outright cheap and the look of their full-on transformation was utterly hilarious to look at.

Personally, this film is filled with plenty of unintentional laughs; from how they depicted Japan, making it look like Chinatown, silly moments and a possible dubbed voice for Koyuki. This movie was just not my taste and another example of a film adaptation of an anime gone wrong.

World War Z (2013)

Could have been better, but overall a decent, fun zombie flick.

[4/10 · 27 June 2013]

Now for a PG-13 zombie flick, I have to say that what the director did for this flick and being very restricted with the gore and especially with the zombies mutilating their victims, he did a good job of making these zombies look creepy and at points horrifying. The creepy side is based off of their movements and how these zombies twitch constantly, while the horrifying moment is based off of how fast these zombies can run and how ferociously they attack their preys. There is a moment in the second and third half where I actually felt the intensity of the moment and thought the director did a good job.

I really can't say much about the performances because this is simply Brad Pitt's movie. The main focus is on Brad Pitt and as always, Brad Pitt is a very good actor and the character that he portrays as is very likable. My only gripe when it comes to the cast is that there are recognizable actors from left to right who only speaks a couple of lines and is very limited with their roles. It would have been nice to see them more often rather than having a smaller role.

I do like the premise of the film and have to say that I did enjoy this zombie flick; however, the execution by the director just didn't fully present well in the end. Before watching this film, I had this problem that the execution will not be presented well based on the director, who have previously directed "Quantum of Solace." Sure enough, what I feared did sort of happen in a way. How some of the moments and scenarios were executed didn't fully work for me and there were some problems with how the movie progressed. How Brad Pitt's character went from Point A to Point B was very formulaic and really felt like a video game. For example: Brad's character gets to a destination, figures something out, goes through an end chapter scenario and enters Chapter 2 of the game. It's not a huge gripe, but I didn't like and intended the film to progress this way. Also, my other gripe involves Brad Pitt's character finding something out about the zombies. At the third act of the film, Brad's character goes to a lab to where he reveals to some scientists toward some information about the zombie. My only gripe with this scene is that the director did not take the liberty to show how Brad's character figured out this solution and that there wasn't enough information on screen to have us, as an audience, to see how he was able to figure everything out. At a degree, we do see, however, how the scene was shown and how Brad's character connects everything is not fully explained.

Overall, this film was decent enough to watch and not as bad as many people speculated the movie to be. I did have fun, thought the zombies were creepy and had some cool moments. However, because of the bad execution and the progression of the plot, I have to give this film a B-.

The Man with the Iron Fists (2012)

Had awesome moments, but the execution was amateurish

[5/10 · 4 June 2013]

Based on what I saw from the trailer, this movie looked like it would be this awesome kung-fu movie for this generation with cool characters, awesome action sequences and could have been one of the best movies of 2012 for me. I will admit, there were some cool moments and I did feel the love of kung-fu movies that RZA shares. However, despite all of this, this movie contains too many flaws that really caused me to not like this as much as I wanted to and to be very disappointed with what I have watched.

Kung-fu fans know that plot and acting are not fully focused on this genre and all that is cared for was if the action is awesome and if the movie just made you want to mimic the moves that you've seen on screen with your friends. As said above, there were some cool moments, but RZA is too much of a amateurish director to where the flaws that I have witnessed kind of took back that fun experience that I wanted from this film. One of my main concerns was RZA's framing, editing and how he filmed the scenes. There were countless of countless of scenes of where his framing was quite off to where it bugged me as I was watching various of scenes. One example was when the film focused on RZA's character and Jamie Chung's character. The camera is zoomed up way too much onto the actors to the point where only half of their face is shown.

When it came to the editing and all, this is where the flaw kicks in again. I will admit, the film had some pretty cool action sequences and I can fully imagine and know the image that RZA was aimed to film. However, the editing was quite choppy and wasn't filmed right to where some action sequences were either hard to watch or the execution was mediocre to where I had to take some points off of the film based on what was shown.

Another feature that I found a huge flaw was RZA himself. There are plenty of actors out there who are not absolute great actors, but have great charisma to where you won't care about the acting and just enjoy the guy kick some butt. RZA is not one of those people because he lacks any sort of charisma, he is just way too bland and is simply not made to be a lead to be on screen. Each time he is on screen, he looks like as if he just woke up, mumbling his words and just didn't have that energy as he portrayed as his character.

I maybe writing flaws here, but the film does have some good features behind it. Like I said above, the action sequences had some awesome moments and I know what RZA wanted to capture and thought he did do his best. Another great thing was the characters to where I found some of the characters (mainly Jack, Bronze Body and X-Blade) to be the most memorable ones and to kicked the most butt out of all the characters. Finally, I can feel the love of kung-fu movies from RZA and know that he wanted to create a huge love note for kung-fu movies.

Disappointing, yes. The worst movie of 2012, not exactly. There are good features for this film, but because of the countless amateurish mistakes and the huge lack of charisma of RZA, I just couldn't fully enjoy the movie.

Silent Hill: Revelation (2012)

Worst of 2012 and a very bad video game adaptation

[2/10 · 5 March 2013]

The first film to be based off of the "Silent Hill" video games was rather decent, bringing the eeriness and the creepy environment to the big screen. This sequel, does bring in the creepiness, but fails to become a film. The director does bring in that crazy environment, with the walls turning to ash and having these characters go into a different dimension with strange, scary creatures lurking in every corner, but the build up and the plot itself was way too jumbled around to the point where I found myself being bored and rather unentertained with the visuals that I am witnessing. The plot is simple and does tie into what happened in the previous film; however, the main flaw that the plot carries is that nothing makes any sort of sense. The film introduces characters, details and issues that are going on and yet, nothing is ever explained and have left me wondering what in the world was going on. For example: the town, Silent Hill, is tend to be a place that not anyone can enter and yet the film introduces countless of people who somehow stumble unto this town without any sort of explanation.

Another disappointment that I have found with this whole universe was how cheap and uninteresting everything looked in the film. The first film introduced us to the Silent Hill universe and as I said above, really brought that environment to the big screen. This film does not present that great feature to the audience and instead shows how cheap the whole production was. By watching this, you can tell that all the director has done was filming these scenes at an abandon apartment and changing the color alterations to fit the color of the environment. Also, there are moments where you will see these monsters fight off and yet, can't help to realize the plastic toys that the actors are swinging around.

Do not get me started on the performances because there is no saving grace in this film when it comes to the performances by the cast. You have Sean Bean, who has proved himself to be a good actor, acting very amateurish and pretty much sucking in the scenes he appears. Adelaide Clemens, who portrays as Heather, also does not deliver any good performances and wasn't that good at all. Also, there is a very short cameo by Malcolm McDowell, who simply acts like a maniac high on meth and Red Bull; very silly and yet quite laughable for my taste at the least.

The only praise that I have to give this movie was the creatures; excluding Pyramid Head who looks very cheap here. I liked the whole nurse scenes looked, although it involves two very stupid characters, but liked how that scene was set up. Also, liked this mannequin monster whom you will only see for a very short time; the look, the creepiness and everything. Despite that small praise, these scenes involving the monsters only last for a couple of minutes and yet you will never see them again.

I tried to give this film a chance, but I couldn't help myself but to feel absolutely bored throughout the film. Fans will recognize several references that the film tries to tie into the film; mainly from "Silent Hill 3," but you will see a very short reference from "Silent Hill: Origins" and with "Silent Hill: Downpour." But do I see fans having fun while watching this movie, I highly doubt it; however, I have been proved wrong. Fans may enjoy this, but for an average moviegoer, this is a very poorly made, horrible film that should be avoided at all cost. Not only was it a downfall compared to its predecessor, but also this is definitely one of the worst video game film adaptations I have ever witnessed.

The Raid: Redemption (2011)

Won't Go as Far as to Say it is the Best, but It's A Pretty Fun Ride

[8/10 · 17 January 2013]

The tag line on the American poster describes this film to be "The Best Action Film in Decades." I won't go as far as being THE BEST, but I will agree that the action scenes blew me away! The choreography during these fights were absolutely incredible to watch. Another thing that worked for me was the camera work and how visible each sequences were. The main problem with films lately is the usage of shaky camera movement that does cause me to loose interest in the action scenes. The action scenes captured every movement easily and followed each bone crunching punches and kicks and every kill to leave you jaw dropped. Each fight scenes were memorable, amazing and it is hard to lose interest as the fights go into full maximum drive.

Despite the incredible choreography and the jaw dropping action sequences, there were certain gripes within the film that have caused me to drop the grade. My main concern within this movie is that the pacing goes to a complete halt during the segments of dialogue and the character developments. It really felt like driving a car at full maximum speed and coming to a complete stop because of a traffic light. I'm not fully saying that it's not relevant and was unnecessary, but because of the adrenaline paced action sequences, the moments of dialogue really caused the pacing to drop. Another flaw that I found was the lack of details toward the main character. You know that he has a pregnant wife, a rookie on the SWAT team, can kick some serious butt and has a brother who left home, but that is all you will ever know about the character. The film mentions for a brief moment about the family issues, but there is nothing much more that was mentioned throughout the film. Probably a possible sequel will explain about certain details that were left out in this film; however, this is the only gripe that I carry in the film.

The story is sure simplistic and does lack character depth for you to care about the other characters in the film. However, despite that, the action scenes are very enjoyable and will enjoy the full ride from start to finish.

Les Misérables (2012)

A musical that even musical haters can somehow enjoy!

[9/10 · 14 January 2013]

As a cinephile, my least favorite genres are easily romance and musicals; mainly because both genres have become way to cliché over the past years. However, I was simply blown away by this movie and found this movie to be one of my favorites of 2012.

What surprised me about this film is that this is no ordinary musical where the actors will lip sync out of nowhere and everyone in the film will sing in a Glee-ful style. The cast in this movie sang most of the dialogue (around 98%) and this is what caught me off guard. Not only are the casts of this film singing, but they are putting out raw performances and I mean that these people are acting and singing at the same time, delivering raw emotions as these actors/actresses are singing. What even surprised me more was that I never felt that frustration or this sort of boredom as the characters are singing. All of the songs are sung to tell what is going on with the story, to present emotion toward the characters, and to easily add emotion toward the songs. All of these songs are extremely relevant for the plot and I have to admit, despite of not being a huge fan of musicals, to enjoy and like the music.

I have watched the 1998 dramatization of this story, starring Liam Neeson, Uma Thurman, Geoffrey Rush, and Claire Dames. Although the performances in that movie were good, I found the performances in this movie to over-exceed the performance, power and emotion delivered by the cast in the 1998 version. Many of the casts not only have nice vocals, but their performances were great and it absolutely blew me away. There were 3 main people that simply stole the show and they are Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Samantha Barks as Eponine, and easily Anne Hathaway as Fantine. I cannot say how much I enjoyed watching these 3 in the film. Hugh Jackman really brought the emotion toward the character and really made the character likable. Samantha Barks, who made her film debut in this, presented great vocals and as Hugh did, added emotion toward her character. Then comes Anne Hathaway who despite only appearing for a very short amount of time, caused me to cry enough to fill a water bottle. Her character is very tragic and watching her give out that raw performance while singing "I Dreamed A Dream" just made my eyes hurt because the amount of tears shed. She deserves every critical acclaim and praise and definitely deserves an award for her role.

Now if there is one actor that I should mention, that should be Russel Crowe. I have heard many complaints and have seen many fingers point Crowe to be the weakest link toward the film; I have to disagree. He is simply overshadowed by Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway to where he looks amateurish compared to the two. I actually didn't mind his performance and thought he presented a nice baritone voice for the character. Sure, he is not amazing and only presents a baritone range, but that doesn't mean that he sucked. He gave a good performance and did a good job with his portrayal as Javert.

However, despite the film being very powerful and surprisingly entertaining for me, I did find some flaws within the film that did sort of bugged me. I dug the whole plot of Les Miserables and agree that it is one of the greatest stories out there; however, I found the third part of the film, the plot about the French Revolution, to be not as strong as the first two parts. Personally, I found the love triangle between Cosette, Marius and Eponine to be stretched out a little too long. I understand that it is part of the story and I did enjoy it, but compared to the first two, it wasn't as strong and didn't really give me that strong impact as the others. Second has to be Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen's role as Thénardiers. I actually enjoyed their part as they are introduced and they had a very catchy tune that they sung. However, their role in the third part was sort of out of place; they appeared as a comic relief in an emotional scene that does ruin the mood at a certain degree. I do, however, like their performances and they did a good job portraying as these characters.

Director Tom Hooper easily brought enough emotion, character depth, and power to this musical to where the film had brought me into tears throughout various moments. I will easily admit that this film had brought me to tears throughout various moments and had me simply enjoy this film from start to finish. This film easily got me hooked and not only surprised me, but presented a musical that I actually enjoyed watching. It does take awhile to get used to the words being sung, but despite that, this film is worth watching. The only gripe that people might give is the length, which is close to 3 hrs. However, the plot is absolutely amazing, the songs help tell the story and the performances, especially from the 3 that I have mentioned earlier, made the film work. Even if you are not a fan of musicals, you may be surprised to find yourself not hate or even like this film.

13 Assassins (2010)

A Surprisingly Great Samurai Film By Takashi Miike

[9/10 · 8 June 2012]

I'll give director Takashi Miike credit for taking on adaptations or topics that would be very difficult to be made into films. However, If there is one genre I never expected this director to get his hands on a jidaigeki or samurai films. His directional style worked for this film and he surprisingly made a very good jidaigeki.

I have not seen the original and plan to watch it as soon as I get my hands on it. However, from what I have seen, the storyline was actually pretty good. The film focused very well on these assassins planning out their tactics, giving character depth on the characters who mattered, and portrayed their final battle against the warlord in a violent fashion that was just brilliant. One warning though, you will most likely be watching a film that follows the samurai's, planning out their tactics against the evil warlord throughout the film. Usually, this type of storytelling leads to a very boring movie; however, everything worked well enough where you will barely be bored and will be entertained. The film makes up the long wait with its final battle as the fight is one long fight. I liked how Miike presented the film as a samurai film and nothing different. You have the samurai honor, samurai code, and the samurai's and citizens acting like how they should during that time period.

I liked how the director portrayed the characters as it follows the time period and historical perspective of the time period. Unlike "Seven Samurai" as all of the samurai's played a vital role in the story, some of the recruits are not paid close attention to, as they are not in the same class as the samurai's who are paid attention the most. As the final battle occurred, I did forget that these assassins exist, but overall, their existence matters. Although they do play a vital role near the end, do not expect the film to focus onto these characters. All you need to know is that the Yakusho Koji's character, among others who have the most dialogue are the character's who you will care for the most.

I haven't seen a good cast in a Japanese film in quite a while. Yakusho Koji, Yamada Takayuki, Iseya Yuusuke, among others who are casted in this epic jidaigeki and they were all fantastic as their roles. Out of 13, at least 4-5 assassins were focused the most because of their class and all of the characters are awesome and likable. Iseya Yuusuke does play a character that you can recognize in "Seven Samurai," the wild character who joins the group of assassins; but I liked the character and he is a very good actor. Everyone who mattered in the film, performed very well and I really liked the cast they used for this film. You have a good amount of Japanese actors/actresses who were well casted and all gave it their best. Possibly, the most surprising was Nagai Goro who portrays the main antagonist. In Japan, there is a talent agency called Johnny's which holds a group of male idols who sing and dance around; basically an agency that promotes a great amount of Backstreet Boys. Most of them can't act nor sing and cause a film to go downhill fast because of their lack of talent. Nagai Goro is part of one of the boy bands named "SMAP" and isn't great when it comes to his acting skills; but surprisingly he was pretty good. His character is sadistic and evil as it comes and Goro pulled it off pretty well.

What surprised me most was the serious tone he delivered for this film. From all of the films I have seen by Miike, he always had to add these ridiculous scenes in between the plot; to add humor in between the story. I watched the 20 minutes of deleted scenes from the international release and surprisingly, all of the scenes that were cut out from the final cut didn't have as much ridiculous moments that I expected; they were scenes that could have made it to the final cut. However, as expected, their was one ridiculous scene and was glad to see that part being cut out. One thing that might be weird to people will be the ending as something peculiar happens. The ending will definitely cause some confusion, but I really liked how he made it an open ending. His ending will definitely get you thinking and it really worked for me.

If you have watched "Seven Samurai," then you know that the film presents a very long climactic battle. As I read in a few Japanese websites, both, this and the original, presents a very long climactic battle. If I remember correctly, the final battle is at least 45 minutes and what a long battle it was. The battle goes non-stop as you see the assassin's cut down their enemies one by one and seeing their planned tactic go into play. Miike really used his style of directing and created a bloody and violent battle that was entertaining. This film is a gore fest as you see blood squirting everywhere and seeing that all of the characters are pretty awesome.

It's been a while since I've seen a very good samurai film and Miike definitely surprised me with this flick. If you enjoy Miike's work or love samurai films, then you will have a blast watching this film.

Tales from Earthsea (2006)

The Worst Studio Ghibli Film to Exist

[2/10 · 8 June 2012]

Just like how Disney and Pixar has their magic, Studio Ghibli does as well and this film fails to bring in any of the magic; easily put it, this is the "Cars" of Japan. This whole film is a flaw and I am not exaggerating when I say this. Reading an interview in a Japanese website, the author the book, Ursula K. Le Guin, even said that she was confused as this animation starts off halfway through the series. I have not read the book so I do not know if the film does resemble anything near the book. However, from what I have seen, I found myself asking more questions and wondering what in the world is going on, rather than being amazed and entertained with the storyline.

To simply put it, you will not enjoy anything that happens in this film. The storyline is out of place and presents various details that you will not get because the film is based off of the 4th or 5th part of the book series. It's like watching the fifth installment of "Harry Potter" without watching any other part of the series. You'll be confused on why these grim reaper looking things are attacking Harry, who are the characters, who is Voldemort, what does he want, etc. You will be confused out of your mind as the film presents more questions to the audience rather than answering any of it. The film tries to have a little twist and some surprises, but what is the point of being surprised and being blown away by the twist if you do not understand anything that occurs in the film. There are plenty of loopholes in this film and you will lose interest toward this film as easily as a hot dog eater chugging down a hot dog.

Studio Ghibli film's always tend to use a cast of well known actors to portray the voices of the characters. They are usually pretty good, some do suck, but overall they are decent. The voices in this film was pretty decent. Okada Junichi who voiced Arren was okay; he had this adult voice when the character is 10 years younger than how his voice should be. Teshima Aoi voices the young mysterious heroine, Therru. Simply by listening to her, you can tell she is an amateur and listening to her voice is nowhere close to nails scratching on a chalkboard, but it isn't a good performance. She also sings the the ending song for this and you will think to yourself that she should stick to singing more than doing voice acting. My favorite character, overall, has to be Sparrowhawk, voiced by Bunta Sugawara. I don't know why, I like these wise characters and that is what you see in Sparrowhawk as he is wise, smart and a good character; despite not having no exact knowledge on the character.

The best thing about this film was the art as Studio Ghibli is quite creative and impressive with its art style. The art style was able to depict a very great fantasy world that is just fun to look at. The story maybe a piece of junk, but the art isn't; it kind of feels like a waste of paper though based on how horrid the story is.

It is sad to see that after "Howl's Moving Castle," Studio Ghibli is losing their touch on creating a great fantasy. Maybe it has to do with having Miyazaki's son to direct this film or because the great Miyazaki is losing his touch of creating an incredible fantasy world. With a blank plot and lack of explaining anything, not even the decent voice acting and great drawings can save this film from the catastrophe that it had bring.

Super 8 (2011)

ET Just Went Hardcore

[9/10 · 8 June 2012]

If you combine the creative mind of J.J. Abrams with the great Steven Spielberg, you'll get a pretty unique, entertaining alien film that can be quite enjoyable to all. I completely lost interest in alien films, but this film really brought back that interest that I lost, and grabbed my attention by bringing an exciting and entertaining film. The film is not childish in any sort of way and focused very well on these children. You follow these children as they go through this crisis while filming their movie, and being involved with these crazy events that occur. You get enough character depth to care about these characters and somehow relate to any of these kids. The movie has this "Goonies" vibe to it, as you can't hate the characters and you know that this film will present an awesome adventure. Everything was just well paced and didn't lose track of anything; the film had heart and it worked out pretty well.

Personally, I find it hard to not even get thrilled while watching some of these scenes. J.J. knows how to keep the audience excited and that is what he does in this film. You will definitely be up for a fun ride as what you see is quite enjoyable to watch and does bring in the thrill that made this film significant. When hell breaks loose, that's when the excitement kicks in; explosions everywhere, carnage from left to right, and thrills that made this a fun ride. My jaws dropped during these scenes, especially during the train crash as I was just blown away with that event. There are plenty of special effects and CGI used, but this really helped bring in the excitement factor that this film perfectly portrayed.

Director J.J. Abrams somehow does a good job of keeping the audience in suspense as he will not reveal something important until the end; that is how you will feel in this film. If you have watched "Cloverfield," or J.J.'s famous TV series "Lost," then you know that you are up for a few surprises as the film tends to keep the appearance and information about the monster a secret. Strange occurrences are occurring in this small town and everything gets out of control; you will simply be sucked into the story, wondering what is going on and why these things are occurring at the same time. You will only get a few glimpse of the monster and will not be able to see the monster as a whole until the end of the film. People maybe frustrated by this, but I thought it boosted the interest as you will keep wondering to yourself about this creature. I really liked the creativity that J.J. does with his work and the monster looked pretty awesome; as a fan of monster films, I really liked how this monster looked.

Personally, when I see kids cuss on screen, it feels like it was used to surprise and make the audience laugh, seeing that a young 5 year old child is cussing. However, when it comes to this film, I really didn't mind about these kids cursing like crazy. The dialogue works really well in this film and I actually liked the conversations that these kids have. The kids are all different, having different characteristics, likable, and relatable. Thinking real hard, I am possibly the fat kid because of how he acts and actually picturing myself acting that way during a crisis like that. My good friends are filmmakers and watching these kids reminds me of the good old times of us filming our own film. The acting is pretty good in this, especially coming from the kids. I was never annoyed by their existence in the film and actually liked their performances. All of the kids were great, but I have to say that the best is possibly Joel Courtney as the cops son and Elle Fanning. Both were just fantastic in this film and really liked, both of their acting and the characters they portrayed. All of the other cast members were actually pretty good and really liked the performances from everyone.

Two great minds helped made an alien movie that delivers a great fun ride, likable characters, a very good storyline, and a mystery behind this monster that will slowly reveal itself, keeping you wondering about this being.

I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)

Ridiculous and Yet It's a True Story

[7/10 · 8 June 2012]

Surprisingly, I never expected to like this film as much as I have intended, since I viewed this film as a flunk. The film was just well executed, well paced, and not presenting anything unnecessary. The story is pretty interesting and it sticks to what needs to be told. There were never any moment in the film that took a detour, as it stayed on focus on what this film was about; every scene mattered and nothing was put into waste. I do not know how much of this was real or if Russell did everything for a gay lover, but the film does a good job of explaining and depicting the infamous prison escapee and portraying his intelligence. It was actually quite fun to watch as you follow the character falling in love and fooling around him, in order to get the things that he wants.

There are not as much exploitations as you see in "Milk," but do expect at least few gay sex scenes. Despite the exploitations, I really liked how the director didn't overuse scenes that involved the gay couple because it really would have ruined the film for me. Adding these scenes in various parts of the film, really feels like the film wants to be funny by adding potty humor. You will only see less than a few of these scenes, one is quite exploitive, by the way; however, the director didn't focus on adding more of these scenes, only focusing on what needed to be portrayed on the film.

This is categorized as a comedy, but I will say that don't expect for some non-stop laughter. Not everything that you see is laugh out loud funny, but it is comedy that you can watch and actually enjoy without having some non-stop laughter. Personally, the only comedy that I found laughable was watching how Steve Russell, portrayed by Jim Carrey, escapes from prisons numerous of times. The real Steve Russell is known for being the Houdini of prison escaping and you see why he received that nickname. It is very comical to see all of these escape routines that Russell will do and you will see something different in every escape attempt. Each one of his escapes were well-thought, smart, and unique as you see a different escape attempt each time and will never see the same attempt used again.

You have a small cast for this film and I thought everyone was pretty good in their roles. Ewan McGreggor was actually good as I never expected him to even consider to portray a character in this type of film; he is not a bad actor and was good as Russell's gay lover. Now, the person who did steal the show was Jim Carrey. This is not the Jim Carrey that you have seen in his 90's comedy flicks, but this is Jim Carrey acting and using his talent that made him famous, to portray the character. You'll see that Russell is a smart character and have succeed in multiple prison escapes and Carrey was great as the role. I thought to myself that Jim Carrey was near perfect for this film because of the characteristics of his character. You have to have a character that is capable of fooling people by being able to do countless of voices, impersonations, and doing the impossible, in order to escape; what better actor than Carrey to take on this role..

This film is definitely not in the same level of funny as you see in "The Hangover," but watching these numerous escape routines and watching Russell fooling the people around him brings in some humor. A good cast , great performance by Carrey, a decent storyline that was executed quite well, and a smart character that was able to escape countless of times, made this film surprisingly enjoyable.

X: First Class (2011)

A Prequel That Brings Back the Excitement of the Franchise

[9/10 · 7 June 2012]

There are two sides to the X-men film franchise: the good side, which is "X-Men" and "X2" and the bad side, which is "X-Men: The Last Stand" and "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." The good side really brought the excitement and greatness of X-Men to the big screen and the bad side completely ruined the franchise. What this film actually did was making the story extremely enjoyable and bringing back the franchise to the same level of greatness of the first 2 films. This film did a great job of telling a story that connects this film to the others from the franchise and making it enjoyable for all. If you watched the good sides of the franchise, then you will be able to point out the resemblance and connect the dots that lead to the events of the franchise. You will get a better understanding of how the characters became how they were to be, giving strong feedback and enough depth to explain their ambitions and characteristics.

Director Matthew Vaughn not only did a great job of connecting this prequel to its predecessor, he developed a strong story that is enjoyable for both fans and for people watching this for the first time. The director treats this as the first of the franchise to be made into a film, allowing people who have not seen or heard of X-Men, to be able to get on and enjoy the ride. You seriously don't have to watch any of the predecessors in order to understand the characters and the storyline. What I really liked about the story was the creativity of adding this historical event, making it fictional and adding scenarios that are filled with enthusiasm. The film focused extremely well on the characters, giving them a great amount of depth and characteristics, making these characters really likable. Unlike the last two films of the saga, I didn't have that feeling that most of the characters were there just to be on screen and to brought in for no particular reason. All were added for a purpose and most of these characters play a critical role in the plot. Most of them have incredible abilities and it is quite amazing to see these characters unleash their power. My only complaint about the characters was Beast because of how ridiculous he looked compared to the 3rd entry. Beast in the 3rd film looked like how Beast should look, but Beast in this film looked like an overgrown Beast doll that didn't get the cuddling and love from children.

Another thing that diverse this with the last two entries of the saga was bringing in the excitement and making these scenes count. It was amazing to see these characters use their abilities, fun to watch them train and the final showdown had that action packed excitement that you want in a super-hero flick. You may complain about the final showdown, based on how these characters have these crazy abilities, but didn't receive the justice and showdown that you wanted to see; other than that, the final showdown is great and it will get you quite excited. Personally, the director brought up some pretty awesome, well shot scenes that were pretty awesome. My favorite has to be near the end of the final fight between Magneto and Shaw. Just watching that scene really brought a huge grin because of how awesome it was and is definitely one of the most awesome scenes I have seen in 2011.

The main question that people will wonder is if James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender can pull off being Professor X and Magneto's younger self. The answer is simple: not only did they gave out great performances, but they were extremely great and portrayed as the characters quite perfectly. You see a different side to the characters, something that you didn't get to see in the other films, and the film gave plenty of depth to these characters and both actors just did a tremendous job portraying as both characters. None of them outshine one another, since both gave out equally strong performances, making you like both characters equally. Kevin Bacon was simply great as the villain, Sebastian Shaw. Shaw is definitely one great villain and stand tall with other villains in the saga. What Shaw can do is quite impressive and once you see what he can do, you will be quite amazed and will definitely like him as a villain. Every other cast also did great and fit very well with their characters.

Not only did this brought back the saga to its feet, but it definitely stands equal or actually better than the first 2 entries of the saga. Great characters, exciting moments, great portrayals and perfectly combining the story with the others made this film a worthy comic book film and an exciting film to watch.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

The Final Avenger arrives before the Upcoming Avengers

[7/10 · 7 June 2012]

With the hyped Avengers film being close to be shown, the final entry toward the long awaited Avengers film has finally arrived. I was never a fan of Captain America, since my friend and I always joked around how pathetic and how lame he is toward the superhero genre. However, after watching this film, all my dislikes toward him just went away. Captain America is not my favorite, but is definitely a good hero in the Marvel Universe.

I ended up enjoying and actually liking the film more than expected. As a superhero film, it doesn't stand out toward great Marvel classics like "X-Men," "Spider-man," and "Iron Man." The film is, however, a good hero film and a good entry toward the Avengers franchise. The feedback and story of Steve Rogers was well told, giving enough characteristic that can allow viewers who are into the film to care and root for the character. I also liked the fact of how this film connects toward the Marvel films that are connected to the long awaited Avengers film. There are certain traits that link to "Thor" and "Iron Man;" fans and anyone waiting for the super group film next year will enjoy seeing how these films link together.

Every actor/actress were pretty good and were cast well as the characters. The performances lead to actually liking the characters that you see on the screen. Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, Stanley Tucci as the doctor,Tommy Lee Jones as the colonel and Hugo Weaving as The Red Skull. I'm used to seeing Chris Evans playing these playboy/cool type of characters. He was actually pretty good as the patriotic Marvel hero. Rogers is just very patriotic and a great character. Hugo Weaving is no stranger to playing villains and he does pretty good as the villainous Red Skull. Favorite performances were from Tommy Lee Jones and Stanley Tucci. Tommy Lee Jones brings in the humor and really liked the character that Tucci portrays.

There was a decent amount of action involving Captain America in the film. Any doubt of his shield of being a lame weapon will be gone as you Rogers in action. What Rogers can do with his shield was pretty cool and fun to watch as he goes into action. The action sequences were fun to watch and presented a good amount that will satisfy viewers. The only complaint I have was in the trailer; all the fun action scenes that you've seen in the trailer were presented in a montage after Rogers forms his team. It felt out of place and was presented in a corny fashion that didn't work out for me. I would have liked it better if the film took the liberty to just portray the tactics that Rogers have done against Red Skull's army. The special effects are nothing special but are not misleading in any way. The CGI and special effects were well used and never felt overused.

Captain America is a great entry not only as an entry toward the Avengers franchise, but as a superhero film itself. The story had a great main character, likable characters, good acting by the cast, a nice story and action that was fun to watch.

Green Lantern (2011)

Another Disappointing Entry t

[3/10 · 7 June 2012]

2011 was a good year for Marvel, but the same could not be said toward DC. Instead of presenting a good story that focused well with the characters, this film focused more on presenting a complete CGI world with countless amounts of mindless moments. To me, this was made by a director who loved the comic book and tried to recreate every bit of detail into the story. However, in the end, he presented the Green Lantern universe in a picture book fashion, only introducing the universe and the Lanterns, just to bring in some wows. There is nothing new to the film, following a typical cliché of super hero flicks, and presenting a very bland storyline.

If you like these films, then you won't probably mind everything; on the other hand, if you want a comic book film that focuses on the character, then you'll probably be disappointed. The story didn't had enough power and enough of that entertainment, that many super hero films had in order to grab your attention. The story tends to jump all over the place, not being exactly sure of what story it wanted to tell. Characters don't help boost the entertainment either and fails to tell a simple tale about one of DC's memorable characters. The worst about the story has to be the main character, as you barely see Hal Jordan/Green Lantern, portrayed by Ryan Reynolds, go into action and to actually illustrate his development. You only see him train for a few minutes, then he quits being the hero and changes his mind in the end. There are no signs of portrayal of Hal's progress, only portraying his denials and worries that caused the film to drag and creating a huge gap.

Personally, there were plenty of pointless features displayed in the film. You will not buy the comic relief character and view him as a loose end to the humor. The relationship between Hal and his love interest tends to be everywhere, making it hard to buy their chemistry. The worst had to be the characters themselves; being introduced, but completely being a loose end to the story, playing no important role. Basically, you will not care for any of the characters, especially toward the only 5% who actually mattered. You won't care about the characters, won't care about the chemistry, and will simply not even be impressed with the villains since you have a humanized Brain from "Pinky and the Brain," and a huge yellow cloud that looks like a dust cloud from Pigpenn of "Peanuts." Dr. Hector Hammon, portrayed by Peter Sarsgaard, was definitely not menacing and wasn't even worth to exist in the plot. He actually does nothing that makes him matter and although the yellow cloud does do some damage, it was quite useless as a villain as well. You will not root for the characters, not even for the main character, whom you are supposed to cheer the most.

You will definitely see plenty of these moments that are filled with CGI used for the characters and for the powers of the Green Lantern. The ideas and creativity behind the ring bearer's was quite nice, as you see these characters imagination come to life as they unleash their power. The action, however, cannot be said the same because of how it lacked that creativity and ideals. Some of the abilities that you will see are quite questionable as they cause the film to drag, making no complete sense. One perfect example is this crazy helicopter crash and rather than producing a net, the Green Lantern produces a race car to catch the plane, making a childish and pointless scene that was certainly unneeded. You barely get to see the action and did not develop this high speed action that you would want in a super-hero film. The final battle was especially disappointing, as it lacked that dynamic battle that you wanted; especially since the main antagonist is a fart cloud.

When it comes to the acting, I won't completely blame the actors for their portrayal since most of them were actually good. I still see Ryan Reynolds as "The Flash" and find it a total miscast, but he did good overall. Peter Sarsgaard, despite being a pointless villain, actually was good. Blake Lively was pretty hot and decent as her role; she did the best to keep the romantic factor of the chemistry alive. I was quite surprised with the voice performances by Mark Strong, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Geoffrey Rush to commit the roles of the other ring bearers. Tim Robbins is also in the film, but I find him the most misleading, as he once again plays a character that is not needed.

The complete winner of 2011 of the super-hero genre is definitely Marvel since the only DC movie that came out of the year simply sucked. Having a bland plot, annoying and pointless characters, mindless action, and heavily relying on CGI in order to grant the attention of the audience, simply caused this film to fail. If you do like these types of films, then chances are that you will like it, but others will definitely find this a disappointing entry to the DC universe.

Law Abiding Citizen (2009)

Good Premise, but Stupid Overall

[3/10 · 7 June 2012]

The best thing to do while watching this film is to watch the film based on how it is presented; basically turn off your brain. If you do actually pay close attention to the storyline, you will see that this film is action packed, but the story that backs it up is ridiculous and idiotic. It felt like the director wanted to create a film that will use our brains, tackling the flaws in the court system, but ended up making a silly film that really lacked intelligence behind everything. To tell you the truth, it really felt like there was no storyline; it was just about a guy killing off people who were involved with a particular incident. There was nothing to back up this story and nothing to present to it. To simply put it, this is a popcorn flick where you have to turn off your brain and just enjoy what was presented.

Another flaw that the film contained was information behind everything. There were many things that were left unanswered and unexplained. As you watch, you would think that these characters would choose answers that would help solve the situation. However, as you watch this film, you realize that these characters, whom are supposed to be smart, will make the dumbest decisions, only making the whole scenario as worst as it already has become. Also, when it comes to the storytelling, you can see where the film is leading to miles away; the film is very predictable. Some moments were unexpected, but when it comes to the storyline and how it will end, you will probably figure that out within 30 minutes or so into the film.

When it came to the acting, everyone performed at an average level. None of the cast did anything that outshines one another or did performances that sucked. There was nothing wrong with the characters, except for the fact that they acted moronically. They had other ways to deal with the situation, but had to do the opposite of what they could have done and it got annoying. The only character whom I thought was the best character was the antagonist, Clyde Shelton, portrayed by Gerald Butler. He plays these games with the lawyers, speaking out one liners that was laughable, had that mystery behind him and is a tactical genius. How he takes out these people and how his plan was not exactly genius material, but it was pretty impressive. Personally, he was the smartest character in this film, but that is not saying much, based on how dumb everything is in this film.

Clyde's tactics to take out his enemies leads to some violent actions. As gruesome as some of it may seem, the action was not incredible, but was reasonable. Hearing that this film had mindless action, I wouldn't go as far as to say that. Each action that Clyde commits is an act of revenge, maybe ridiculous, but wouldn't go as far as to say that it's mindless. Clyde's plan was pretty impressive, committing actions that were awesome. However, my only complaint is the climax based on how everything came to an end. How everything came to an end really represents how mindless everything about this film is. Even as I watched this film, not taking everything seriously, I still wasn't satisfied with the final showdown.

To make it easier, this film is okay if you don't pay attention to the countless flaws. This film is neither great nor bad; just another type of Hollywood popcorn flick that you just can't take seriously. However, if you do take this film seriously, then you will definitely hate this film.

500 Days of Summer (2009)

A Romance Story That Dudes Can Actually Enjoy Watching

[9/10 · 7 June 2012]

As a guy and movie lover, I view romantic films as a waste of time and a film genre that I'll never touch. Following a typical cliché that combines with an uninteresting tale of boy meets girl or the other way around that is overused and uninteresting. However, what separates this film with other romantic stories is the realistic take of a boy meets girl and presents this in a manner where even a guy like me can enjoy.

While this movie is not exactly a break-up film or the typical romantic comedy film, I really liked the story of this film. As said earlier, It is a simple boy meets girl that portrays this in a realistic manner that shows the highs of being in a relationship and the lows of being dumped or separated from your love. What helped boost the story and fascinating was the storytelling. In easier terms, the film presents a yin-yang type of storytelling; one moment you will see Tom filled with joy and enjoying life as he is with Summer, then the story will jump to a different time where Tom is depressed, then the film repeats this process. Watching this is never annoying and succeeds in telling a good story, making it compelling.

Every actor and actress were perfectly well casted and portrayed their characters very well. Every character, especially the minor characters have at least something funny to present. Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tom and Zooey Deschanel as Summer were great. You can definitely buy the chemistry between these two as you watch their relationship bloom as they are together. I like the fact that the director didn't make Tom the ultimate good guy, making you question his actions that led him to this situation. The beginning will make you think that Summer is evil, but as you watch the film, you begin to realize the flaws and mistakes that Tom had made and will understand the reason of the breakup.

What surprised me most about the movie was the humor since I found myself laughing throughout various moments in the film. There are conversations, interactions and dialogue between the characters that succeeds in bringing laughter to anyone who enjoys the plot. Although you do not see them a lot, personally, Tom's friends really helped bring the humor to some scenes. They were never annoying, didn't outshine any of the cast and were great as you see them on screen. Their conversations really reminds me of my discussion with my best friend that leads up to answers and conclusions that is similar to what these characters say in the film; may sound weird, but it worked for me.

In the end, I ended up liking this film more than I expected. Bringing a realistic take on romance and to present it with good humor, great acting and likable characters really made this film fun to watch.

The Hangover Part II (2011)

It's Hangover Part 1... but darker

[2/10 · 7 June 2012]

If a film becomes a hit, it is very hard to follow it up with a sequel. Usually, sequels end up into a hit or miss situation and this film is an absolute miss; not only wasn't this film as funny as its predecessor, but this sequel doesn't deliver anything new and original. Many of the situations that these characters go through is presented differently but is very identical to what the characters previous experience. If you had high hopes and hoped for this film to be as exciting as the first, then you will be highly disappointed

"The Hangover" presented hilarious humor and comical situations that can get people to laugh from start to finish. The sequel, on the other hand, presented darker and exploited humor that didn't deliver the laugh out loud moments that its predecessor presented. Personally, it felt like the main jokes were re-used from the previous film and the new jokes were scrap ideas that didn't make it to the final cut of the first "Hangover." The most that I have done when it comes to laughing was chuckling and scoffing a few times. The humor and situations that these characters have to go through again really didn't live up to my expectations and was very weak.

When it comes to the storyline, there is nothing very special about it and that it is an exact replica of the first story. Basically, the characters get hungover and go through a similar concept only in a different area. There were some fun moments in this film, but overall, the film didn't have that fun factor that you've seen in the first film; not that it was boring or anything, this film didn't deliver the thrill and excitement that was delivered in the last hungover experience. The first film had that mystery on where Doug was, for the person that gets lost in this film, you can probably figure it out easily. Everything was predictable and ended up not having that surprise, especially toward the final sequence.

Everyone from the bachelor party returns again and once again they performed comically. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis returned once again as the three amigos getting hungover and going through a day of carnage of what they have done, finding their friend. However, their comedic performances were not enough to make the film funny. Since Doug wasn't the one getting lost this time, it would have been nice to see him getting hungover and go through the same situation; however, once again, he is left out of the action. Ken Jeong returns as Leslie Chow, the gangster from the first film. He had some funny moments, but at the same time, he had annoying parts. His character didn't have an exact point in the film, felt like he was added for comedy purposes. Other than that, the other cast members were good as their roles.

Not only is this film a disappointment, but the film presented the same concepts and identical situations, only to be set at a different location. Unfunny humor, comedic performances, barely had any fun moments and a storyline that wasn't special. This is a sequel that should have not been made.

Real Steel (2011)

It Looks Stupid, But It Was Actually Pretty Great!

[7/10 · 7 June 2012]

What certainly surprised me about this film was how this story had this heart-felt story involving a father and son that blended well with a story about robot boxing. You may have seen this type of story before, but trust me when I say that this father and son story works very well in this film. The storyline had enough heart that can lead to audiences to care about these characters and wanting to see the bond between the father and son grow. Just seeing their bond grow as they find Atom and booking matches with this robot adds strength to the storyline, making you want to see that happy ending. It was a very good storyline that focused very well on the characters, never going offtrack and focused only what was important.

I really liked the idea behind the film presenting a futuristic world where robots replaced humans in the boxing world. Although the film is set in the future, I liked the fact that the director made the time period no different from how it is today. This film does not present a CGI world with Jetson planes or people using crazy technologies; the only thing that was futuristic was the robots and this allowed the whole story to feel realistic and allowing audiences to be well attached to the environment. The CGI that was used was pretty nice, especially toward the movements with the robot action.

The robots were pretty cool with all of their awesome designs and the creativity behind them. When it comes to the action, I will be lying if I said that the boxing sucks. Being a fan of watching these types of sports, it was pretty exciting and fun to watch these matches; especially toward the final matches. Watching Atom fight off against the ultimate Zeus was absolutely electrifying. These matches captured the excitement that you will have if you went to watch an actual boxing match. Exciting, fun, and entertaining.

The acting was pretty good. Hugh Jackman as the down luck father, Charlie, Dakota Goya as his son, Max, and Evangeline Lilly as the long time friend of Charlie. You will care about these characters since the film did a very good job of focusing on these characters, portraying the growing bond between father and son, and to show character depth that was surely unexpected. I was surprised about Dakota Goya's acting since kid actors are usually a hit and miss. Goya was never annoying, as you see in many films with kids, and acted well enough that didn't ruin anything that occurred in the film. Everyone else was pretty good as their roles. However, I found Kevin Durand's role as Ricky to be out of place near the end. He was good from the time you see him, but had no place at the end of the film.

Just like other movies of this year, I was surprised of how this film turned out to be. I liked this film more than expected, really liked this heart-felt story that the film had, and I am not embarrassed to say that I became teary eyed near the end. Good acting, fun and exciting boxing matches, and a good storyline.

Amadeus (1984)

A Tale of Envy with Mozart

[9/10 · 7 June 2012]

What made this film work for me was to use a man who is not a well known classical composer (Salieri) and to create a fictional tale of jealousy toward a musical genius (Mozart). Not only does this film works well on telling a fictional biography, but captures the hate and jealousy that Salieri had toward Mozart very well without going offtrack. You see why he hates Mozart, you see his anger and he does what he can to end his career and to take out his competition. The storyline is great as it is; telling the story using flashbacks and partially going back to the present, portraying Salieli as an old man, looking back at his life, narrating his ambition and his emotions at throughout the flashbacks.

There were a few moments that I thought were creative. One was the music; unless you have a passion for music or are a music teacher, you will be in the same situation as I am when it comes to actually reading musical sheets. However, what worked was as you see Salieri look through Mozart's music or Mozart is focused on writing his masterpiece, you hear the music that is being read or written. Instead of having the audience wonder what the score of the music was, the film plays the music so we audiences can hear the music ourselves. Another thing that was pretty creative was the mystery. At the beginning, Salieri confessed that he killed Mozart, his plot and how he killed Mozart remains a mystery until a tragedy occurs in Mozart's life. Another good thing about this film was the fact of despite having the colorful clothing and wigs, the film gave the feeling that the film was set during the time period.

The acting was pretty great in this film; really liked the actors who portrayed the characters. Tom Hulce as the childish, but musically talented Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and F. Murray Abraham as the jealous and less-known composer Antonio Salieri. The other cast members portrayed their characters well and were neither a loose end. In a way, you will feel sorry for Salieri seeing how outclass and how mediocre he is compared to Mozart. As you see Salieri and Mozart in the same room for the first time, you see the Emperor playing a piece that Salieri worked hard and diligently on. As Mozart listens to the music and talks to the Emperor, he plays the piece, without the musical sheet and improves the music as he plays it. No matter how childish and talented Mozart is and how jealous and malevolent Salieri becomes, you just can't hate these two characters. Mozart is simply just Mozart and that is his nature to have the talent and you feel only sorry for Salieri.

This film deserves to be called a classic, with a well-paced strolling about jealousy, great acting, and a fictional tale that involves a lesser-known composer against a musical genius. The film is long, but doesn't give that feeling of a long movie; actually felt shorter than the actual time length. If you like these takes of a fictional tale involving historical figures, then this film is for you.

Warrior (2011)

A Fighting Movie that Keeps the Realism of Fighting

[8/10 · 7 June 2012]

You can see the resemblance that this film has toward other underdog films like "Rocky," so if you are expecting something new, you'll probably be disappointed. However, despite all of this, director Gavin O'Connor did a tremendous job of presenting a good story; presenting very good human drama behind these characters, character development, and presenting scenes that are extremely emotional.

I really found myself being teary eyed throughout various moments in this film and crying at the climax. Everything was well executed: the character development, storytelling, and the human drama that leads to various of scenes that creates an emotional feel to it. For example, as you watch Brendan go into the octagon ring and face off the athletes who are known as the best, you can't help the fact of wanting to cheer for him and wanting to see him claim that victory. The storytelling was well used, focusing on both characters equally and never going offtrack on portraying one more over the other. This will lead you to possibly cheer for both characters, but you might split on who you might cheer the most. Tommy, portrayed by Tom Hardy, is vicious and is simply an animal and Brendan, portrayed by Joel Edgerton is a Rocky type of character; a good guy and a character who you just can't hate. The story never went offtrack and focused only on the life of these two brothers which leads to climax that was seen in the trailer.

Usually, flashbacks are presented in any film in order for viewers to understand the characters or to get a basic idea behind the story. There are no flashbacks, but by watching the great performances by the cast and hearing the dialogue of these characters as they interact one another, you somehow understand their pain and understand how damaged all of them are without any presentation of flashbacks. Just by listening to how Brendan talks to his father and to how Tommy interacts with his brother, you can see that they are damaged and that this family had a rough past.

Being a fan of the sport, I will say that if you enjoy watching UFC or any type of mixed martial arts, then you will surely enjoy watching these fights. Hearing about this film, I expected this film to be like "Never Back Down," or "The Fighting," where the film presents a dumb storyline with ridiculous fighting styles and actors committing wire action moves that you probably will see in a Chinese kung-fu film. This film presented realistic fighting where actors are actually committing moves and fighting styles that you actually see in any type of MMA match. I found myself cheering and enjoying these matches as if I was actually watching one live. These fights were well presented; the camera angles behind some of the matches were not well presented, which is possibly my only complaint about this film. However, despite some bad camera angles, these fights were exciting and presents some pretty awesome knockouts. I won't lie, I had a huge grin behind some of these matches, especially toward Tommy's fights. Watching how he knocks out his opponents was gratifying.

Have you ever watched a match where two of your favorite fighters are at the main event facing each other and you don't want either one to lose? This is the feeling that you will get when you watch the climatic battle between both brothers inside of the ring. The film did a great job of following both characters, leading you to have that feeling of not wanting to see neither one lose.

The acting was just superb, as every actor gave it their best and were great portraying each character. Tom Hardy as the vicious Tommy, Joel Edgerton as the Rocky type of hero, Brendan, and Nick Nolte as the father. These characters are damaged and the acting by these three really portrays how damaged these characters are without the usage of flashbacks to portray the pain that they carry. Everyone gave it their best, leading to great performances by every single actor/actress.

This film does not present nothing new to the underdog genre. However, this film is possibly one of the best film of 2011. A great storyline that focused on two characters equally, great performances, MMA action that was actually accurate and exciting to watch, and well focused human drama.

Drive (I) (2011)

An Absolute Great Art House Film

[9/10 · 7 June 2012]

There have been many outcries and many complaints about this film not being nominated for any big film awards, such as the Academy. After watching this film, I have to say that I agree because this film was simply absolutely amazing! Before I get started, this film is an art film, so not many people will be amazed as I was with this great film. Everything was well shot, well edited, and well directed.

First off, the opening sequence will simply blow you away. Once you see The Driver (portrayed by Ryan Gosling), set out the rules and does what he does, you will find it hard to not even feel a sense of excitement while watching the opening. It really brought the excitement, the thrill, and will definitely get you pumped to see what will happen next. After the opening, the film does slow down the pace; however, this does not cause the film to suck. By watching the opening, you just can't wait to see more of these intense moments; however, the film doesn't exactly take that route. Rather than following a typical action film route, the film focused more onto the characters and environment. So, instead of an action film, you have a story that does have some intensely brutal action sequences and having the characters involve themselves with some gangsters, but the main focus is with The Driver and Irene (portrayed by Carrey Mulligan). Based on how well detailed and well focused director Nicolas Winding Refn, focused onto these characters, you will buy everything that you will see. He added depth, characteristics, emotion, and heart toward these characters to a point where you will buy the chemistry between the two characters and will care/like for the characters. I won't go to the point to say that the story is great, but the chemistry between the characters and having The Driver being involved with the main antagonist with the film is what keeps the story alive.

There are several flaws that some people may point out and view it as a weak point. One is the pacing, as it drops to a point where some people will loose that excitement that was brought during the opening sequence. Another, which I can see many people complain about is the film to be called an "action art film," but to barely have any sort of action. If I remember correctly, there is a total of 2 car chases and several violent moments. However, the total amount of time of the action was at least 20-30 minutes max. I do agree with the lack of action; however, this really didn't bother me as much as some people have put it. As soon as the car chase starts, you'll feel that adrenaline rush and will enjoy the car chase scene. Once you see The Driver snap and go after the bad guys, the director brought the intensity and will make you fear the protagonist. It will definitely be hard for you to not to be amazed or to have your jaw dropped during these moments.

Without good acting, you can't have good characters and this film had a extremely great cast. Carrey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Ron Pearlman, etc. were definitely great as the characters and how their characters were portrayed really made these characters stand strong. Albert Brooks, portrays the main antagonist of the film and I can say that he played a very good villain. He wasn't the typical gangster that just wanted to rule the turf or to take control; he had this Michael Corleone vibe, coming in as your friend, but not knowing when he will strike his blade against you. Now, onto the man who was great, Ryan Gosling. He barely talks in the film, but what makes him great is that you can understand the character and his emotion without him speaking it out. Just by looking at the face, you know that The Driver is either sad, happy, or is angry. His character is great as he is calm, but yet menacing; once he snaps, you will be happy that you are not the villain that is getting the beat down.

The story is not what keeps the film into drive mode, it's the characters, the great directing, incredible acting, and the focus of detail that makes this film a great film. Not many will like the film, especially with the pacing that drastically drops after the opening and with the lack of action. However, for people that enjoy art house films, this is definitely worth the watch.